Miami Heat add two veteran sharpshooters

Miami Heat add two veteran sharpshooters

From Comcast SportsNet
MIAMI (AP) -- Ray Allen's role in Miami is yet to be totally determined. And that clearly doesn't bother the NBA's leading 3-point shooter. Allen and Rashard Lewis signed their free-agent contracts with the Heat on Wednesday, giving the NBA champions a pair of veterans who bring tons of experience and versatility to a lineup already featuring LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. And both wasted no time saying they want to adapt to the Heat way. "Whatever's going to be best for me in this situation is going to figure itself out," Allen said, flanked by Heat President Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra for his introductory news conference. "This team won a championship without me. I'm not going to come in and expect for coach to cater to who I am and what I do. I've got to make that work on the floor with my new teammates." Allen agreed to join the Heat on Friday, deciding to leave Boston after five wildly successful seasons and the 2008 NBA championship. Lewis agreed to terms with Miami on Tuesday. Allen will make just over 3 million this season. Lewis will earn about 1.35 million from the Heat, plus another 13.7 million after getting a buyout from the New Orleans Hornets earlier this offseason. "I'm at a point in my career where I've been on the All-Star team, played for 13, 14 years and I've made a pretty good amount of money over my career," Lewis said. "Everybody sets goals over their career and my next goal is obviously to try to win a championship. The ball can't bounce forever. I'm sure you all see the gray hair on my head." For Lewis, coming to Miami is a new beginning. For Allen, coming to Miami wraps up a month of unexpected twists and turns. The Celtics' season ended in Miami a little over a month ago, with a loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. Allen was unusually emotional after that defeat, then insisted that even after an injury-marred season -- he's recovering from surgery to remove bone spurs from his right ankle -- he has basketball left in his legs. Boston tried to keep him, offering him twice as much as he'll make per year in Miami. Nonetheless, Allen found himself drawn to the Heat. "You come into the summer, and you don't know what potentially can happen," Allen said. "And you take the process a step at a time, try to figure out what's best for you and your family. And here I sit." Allen said that Celtics coach Doc Rivers and general manager Danny Ainge were disappointed by his decision. Allen said he reached out to Kevin Garnett -- he was particularly close with Garnett and Paul Pierce in Boston -- when he began leaning toward Miami, telling Garnett in a text message that the move was likely. Garnett's responded by saying that he was sure Ainge would do whatever it took to keep Allen in Boston. Days later, Allen was signing in Miami. And on Wednesday, Allen downplayed the notion that the move came in part because of a perceived rift with Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo. "I can't say that it factored in my decision," Allen said. "As teammates, we were brothers. ... There's differences. We all have differences. Paul eats corn flakes. I might not like corn flakes. That's just part of kind of who we are as individuals." Lewis has already thought plenty about what it could mean to share the court with James, Wade, Bosh and Allen. In short, he knows defenses could be a bit confounded. "You've got to double-team LeBron. You have to double-team Dwyane Wade. You've got to double-team Chris Bosh. And then you think they're going to leave Ray Allen open?" Lewis said. "They've got to leave somebody open. So I have to go shoot a million jumpers tonight and be ready to knock them down." A few moments later, Lewis posed with Riley and Spoelstra, holding his new No. 9 jersey in Miami colors. "He's played in a great program already. He's been to the finals. He's a winner," Spoelstra said. "We've had some great battles against him." Spoelstra simply raved about Allen as well. "There's only a handful of players, really, in this league that absolutely strike fear into their opponent. And Ray is one of those players," Spoelstra said. Allen and Lewis were Seattle teammates for five seasons, from 2003 through 2007 -- and both figure to fit perfectly into Miami's plan to surround James, Wade and Bosh with even more shooters who can stretch defenses. Allen's 2,718 made 3-pointers are the most in NBA history, and Lewis ranks fifth among active players with 1,690 makes from beyond the arc. Slowed by a bone bruise in his left knee this past season, Lewis averaged 7.8 points in 28 games for Washington. For his career, he's averaged 16.1 points per game with Seattle, Orlando and Washington. "I think it's important, year in and year out, that you continue to try to add quality talent, experience and players who want to make a commitment to winning," Riley said. "And I think we found out the last couple of days how hungry Rashard is."

Fowler spent each of the past two seasons with the Cubs and established himself as a remarkable catalyst at the top of the batting order. He made a surprise decision last offseason, re-upping with the Cubs during spring training after reports had him going elsewhere.

Fowler turned in a terrific 2016 campaign, reaching his first All-Star Game after posting a .290/.398/.483 slash line with seven homers, 19 doubles, three triples, six stolen bases, 28 RBIs and 41 runs scored in his first 64 games before a lengthy stay on the disabled list. He finished the regular season with a .276/.393/.447 slash line, 13 home runs, m48 RBIs and 84 runs scored for the 103-win Cubs.

Fowler picked up 18 hits — including three home runs — and scored 11 runs during the playoffs this past fall as the Cubs marched to their first World Series win in 108 years. He memorably belted a leadoff homer in Game 7 of the World Series, one of two home runs in that series against the Cleveland Indians.

Check out video of Fowler's speech at the Cubs' World Series rally last month in Grant Park:

Report: Buckeyes assistant Luke Fickell negotiating to become next head coach at Cincinnati

Report: Buckeyes assistant Luke Fickell negotiating to become next head coach at Cincinnati

For the second straight offseason, Urban Meyer could be losing a defensive coordinator to a head-coaching job.

Last year it was Chris Ash moving from Ohio State to become the head coach at Rutgers. Now, Luke Fickell looks like he might be leaving for the head-coaching job at Cincinnati.

BearcatReport.com, a Rivals site, reported Friday that Fickell is in negotiations to become the next head coach at Cincinnati, right down the street from the place he's spent almost the entirety of his career.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg followed up, reporting that while Fickell and Cincinnati have talked about the opening, things might not be as imminent as the first report suggested.

Ohio State defensive coordinator Luke Fickell and Cincinnati have spoken but no contract negotiations are under way, sources tell ESPN.

While Fickell — if he were to leave — would technically become a part of the Meyer coaching tree, he's been a mainstay in Columbus since before the Buckeyes' current head coach arrived.

Fickell played at Ohio State from 1992 to 1996 and got a graduate assistant job under John Cooper in 1999. After two seasons as an assistant at Akron, Fickell returned as the Buckeyes' special teams coordinator under Jim Tressel and spent the next nine seasons as a Tressel assistant. He moved from special teams coordinator to linebackers coach in 2004 and got the title of co-defensive coordinator in 2005.

After Tressel's tenure came to a tumultuous end amid what became known as "Tattoogate," Fickell assumed the one-season role of interim head coach, leading the Buckeyes to a 6-7 record before Meyer showed up. Fickell has been a defensive coordinator under Meyer for the past five seasons, helping Ohio State to a jaw-dropping 61-5 record — including a national championship in 2014 — and coaching one of the best defenses in the country over the past several seasons.

Fickell would seem like a perfect fit at Cincinnati, which has a vacancy after the departure of Tommy Tuberville, who posted just a 4-8 record this past season. Fickell is a longtime assistant who most definitely deserves his chance, bringing that one season of head-coaching experience and a knowledge of the recruiting area.

If Fickell takes the job, he wouldn't have to wait too long to go up against his former employer and new in-state foe. The Bearcats and Buckeyes play in 2019, though that comes after Cincinnati's already-scheduled game against Michigan next season.